help for a newbie!

springergirl

hi there everyone! i'm after some advice hopefully of some of you who are going through, or have been through what i'm going through! basically i have severe arthritis in my left hip and knee, my surgeon has said that eventually i will need both replacing (knee first though!. i had one steroid injection in my knee which helped for about a month, but on my last appointment he said he was reluctant to give me another one. at the moment i get around pretty well, my pain is helped by the occasional anti-inflam (brufen), or if really bad i take co-codamol. i do quite alot of exercise, mainly dog agility!!! i'm just wondering if there is a knee support that i can use when i'm competing? i had a really bad experience at the weekend, my knee felt like jelly and kept on giving way. needless to say i didnt do any agility, my friend had to run my dog for me! i wondered also if the weather contributed to this?? it was very hot and humid? thanks very much

sue

frogmorton

Hi sue

Welcome to the forums from me!

I don't have oA so I am not much help, but I got my husband a neoprene support for his knee for driving which might just do teh job. I got it from B**ts the chemist.

You sound to be coping very well with you pain.

Good to meet you

Love

Toni xx

woodbon

Hello, You can buy supports, but they are quite expensive and you need to get the right type. Your GP could refer you to an Occupational Therapist, who will give you the type that will help you most. They also don't cost anything!
Love Sue
PS I forgot to say welcome and I'm glad you've joined us. I hope you find the site as useful as I do!

Love Sue

speedalong

Hi Springergirl, welcome to the forum.

I have OA hips - now both metal .. and knees less severe so exercise management etc I haven't used supports so can't say. I do know quite a few peeps on here do though. You could take a look at the one Toni recommends - but might be worth seeking advice from an OT, to save money and get the best one for you first time round. There is a lot of trail and error around relieving arthritis symptoms!!

Personally what helped me avoid having ops for years was taking regular anti-inflammatories. I took these daily and it was only as the deterioration got a lot worse that I needed to add in painkillers as needed. Your GP would be able to prescribe ones which were safer to take on a daily basis (and it is the current trend to take them with a stomach protector, these days.) You don't sound as if you need to do this just yet, but if you are having pain daily, then it is worth considering.

Keeping active with the dog agility sounds fun.

Speedy

lindalegs

Hi Sue and welcome to the forum

I've had both my knees replaced and have used knee supports in the past. I bought mine from the chemist, flesh coloured passion killers, cost about £8 each. The best ones I found have velcro fastenings and you can tighten or loosen them as necessary.

The exercise you do is the best thing for your joints as it'll keep your muscles strong and therefore help in the support of your knee/hip. I would advise not to use the supports all the time as your muscles will get lazy. I only used mine outdoors during bad spells.

Hope this helps.

Luv Legs

robertls

I use knee supports..........and ankle and elbow as well......

A material called Thermoskin are the best I've found......

Flesh coloured...................and I can wear them all day.......
Some of the other makes are OK.......but can only wear them for about 2-3 hours at a time

Got mine from Chemist


Rob x

springergirl

thanks very much everyone for your warm welcome to the forum and all the helpful advice!! think i'll have a word with my doctor about going to see an occupational therapist, but i'll also drop into my local chemist and have a look at their knee supports. i would definately only wear it when i'm actually competing cos i have been told they do make your muscles lazy! do any of you take any kind of supplements like calcium, glucosamine, cod liver oil etc, and do any of them actually work? as i say i'm only taking brufen at the moment for pain relief, but thats only a couple of times a week especially when i've been dog training! would it be better to take them more regularly or just as i have been doing?
thanks again everyone, any advice is really welcome,

sue x

valval

springergirl wrote:

thanks very much everyone for your warm welcome to the forum and all the helpful advice!! glucosamine,

sue x

i take glucosmine and chond takes months to get in system and does not help everyone.exercise is important as is suporting joints when they need it finding the right balance good luck val

skezier

Hi Sue,

A welcome from me as well I agree with supports can make the muscles get lazy but when your pushing them it might help to wear the supports then. Could really help actually given the running etc in agility work.

The alternatives like Glucosamine and oil can help especially in the early stages but you need to take enough and you really it is better to be done daily. keep your muscles strong as they are invaluable to the joints and make it hurt less as well. Nice to meet you and is your dog a springer? Impressed you got one calm enough for agility commands Mine loved doing it but she would go her own route..... Cris x

springergirl

skezier wrote:

Nice to meet you and is your dog a springer? Impressed you got one calm enough for agility commands Mine loved doing it but she would go her own route..... Cris x

yes got 2 of them, sammy is 10 (and still competes) and rosie is 3. both just love agility as much as me (another reason to hold off having a TKR)!!! my older one is great cos i can keep up with him, but my younger one is just off like a rocket , hence the need for knee supports when running her .

sue x

woodbon

Hi, I agree with the others who have said that its not a good idea to wear them all the time. I have wrist supports, but only wear them for about an hour at a time, when the pain is really bad and my wrists weaken. They feel nice then and when I take them off, I find my wrists feel rested for a while, so on a bad day I may wear the splints 4 or 5 times, in short bursts, when the pain feels nasty.

The only time I wore knee supports was years ago, when I played badminton, I found my knees would start to ache and carry on for a couple of days, so I boutgt some really strong supports and wore them just during the time I played and they stopped the pain.

I really hope you find something to help out until your surgery, maybe a physio could give you some muscle strengthening exercises which might help now and after the op.

Love Sue

tillytop

Hi Sue - sorry I can't advise on your question but just wanted to say "welcome to the forum".

Love Tilly x